Beula Melissa Sager

Beula Melissa (Himelwright) Sager, 92, of Enterprise, died Jan. 19. Services will begin at 1 p.m. Feb. 5 at Bollman Funeral Home.

Beula was born Oct. 21, 1918, the second of four daughters to Fred Colfax Himelwright and Vesta Ellen Puderbaugh Himelwright in Joseph on the family farm.

Beula started school in 1923 at the Hurricane Creek Grade School, across the road from their farm. After graduating from the eighth grade, Beula attended Joseph High School and lived in Joseph's Barton Heights with her grandparents, Schuyler and Melissa Himelwright, during the week.

Like all of her sisters, Beula learned to play the piano, and music was a big part of her life. In high school, she was the pianist for two operettas and she was the senior class president. She graduated from Joseph High School in 1936.

Beula attended Northwestern Business College in Spokane, and lived with her sister, Dorothy, and close friend, Edna Russell Roundy. She graduated in 1939.

Beula married Stanley Loyd Sager in Spokane July 15, 1941. The Sagers moved to Tacoma, Wash., where Stan worked in the shipyards and Beula worked in the cost accounting department at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. until Stan joined the Navy. Stan was inducted into the Navy on July 23, 1943, and was discharged from the Navy as a Coxswain (CB) in Bremerton, Wash., on Nov. 21, 1945.

While Stan was in the Navy, Beula worked in Spokane at the Standard Sales Co. and was a member of the Alpha Iota Sorority. In 1945, she was an assistant to her father and other representatives who served in the Oregon State House of Representatives.

In 1949 the Sagers moved to Enterprise. In addition to supporting Stan in the businesses he pursued, Beula was the office manager for Raven Foods Inc. and later worked for attorney Ed Grant.

In 1964 Stan and Beula moved to Grangeville, Idaho, where Stan managed Prairie Building Supply and Beula worked for U.S. Department of Agriculture. Beula was promoted to office management assistant for the USDA Agriculture Service Center headquartered in Grangeville in 1977 and retired in the spring of 1981.

Stan and Beula kept their home in Grangeville and also began building a home in Salome, Ariz. They were "snow birds" until they moved permanently to Salome around 2001.

In all the places she lived, Beula was active in the community and shared her musical talent. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, the Order of Eastern Star, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and was an officer of the Indian Hills Community Homeowners Association in Salome. Beula enjoyed the history of the Imnaha Canyon where her grandparents homesteaded and visiting with family.

With Stan in failing health, the Sagers moved to an assisted living center in Lake Havasu, Ariz., in July 2006. Stan died Aug. 28, 2006.

Beula returned to Enterprise to live with her sister, Maxine Kooch. The sisters enjoyed the time together playing duets on the piano and organ and sharing life's adventures. Beula moved to the Wallowa Valley Care Center in 2008.

Beula is survived by her sister, Maxine Himelwright Kooch of Beaverton, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stanley Sager; parents, Fred and Vesta Himelwright; and sisters, Dorothy Trezona and Eunice McKinley.

Beula's parents were charter members of the Hurricane Creek Grange. Her father helped build the current grange hall and much of the furniture which is still used today. The grange recently drilled a well and is waiting for funds to buy a pump and finish the project. Memorial contributions may be made to Hurricane Creek Grange Water Fund.

The address is: Hurricane Creek Grange Water Fund, c/o Grace Gray, P.O. Box 275 Joseph, OR 97846-0275.

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